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Steven Spielberg said the British producer, director and actor who died Sunday “was passionate about everything in his life”

Showbiz figures and world leaders around the globe reacted swiftly Sunday to news that acclaimed filmmaker Richard Attenborough had died.

The British producer, director and actor was most famous for directing “Gandhi.” The 1982 biopic won eight Academy Awards, including best picture and best actor for Ben Kingsley, and was one of several of his films that took on social issues.

Attenborough was also an actor of note for decades, and one of his most well-known roles was in Steven Spielberg‘s 1993 blockbuster “Jurassic Park.”

“Dickie Attenborough was passionate about everything in his life — family, friends, country and career,” Spielberg said Sunday. “He made a gift to the world with his emotional epic ‘Ghandi’ and he was the perfect ringmaster to bring the dinosaurs back to life as John Hammond in ‘Jurassic Park.’ He was a dear friend and I am standing in an endless line of those who completely adored him.”

Others, including the U.K.’s Prime Minister David Cameron, to Twitter to celebrate Attenborough.

His acting in "Brighton Rock" was brilliant, his directing of "Gandhi" was stunning – Richard Attenborough was one of the greats of cinema.